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Reviews
Sex and the City (1998)
Engrossing. Funny. Sometimes Immoral.
At the end of the first season , an insecure, scruffy Carrie dumps the urbane, sophisticated Mr. Big ( who's completely out of her league ) when she couldn't prematurely beat a commitment out of him.
She tells herself , " I do have faith, faith in myself, faith that I'll one day meet someone who will be sure that I'm the one "
Such an empowering, positive statement. Bravo.
And her prediction comes true.
That someone was Aidan Shaw. The perfect man. A gentleman, loving, committed, sweet, independant, supportive, undemanding, uncomplicated ... the whole package. A sweetheart.
And what does Carrie do when she fids the perfect man who's sure that she's the one for him ?
She Cheats On Him !
( Also , she lies to him ( about her smoking ), gets irritated with him, commits adultery ,then pursues Aidan again & breaks his heart - twice ... )
Lol.
Carrie Bradshaw is pathetic. The series is still an engrossing one.
Breaking Bad (2008)
Miscommunication , fragile egos , high voltage killings & tricky heists .
Hard to believe that the high IQ man who was careful enough to dispose off a random potted , Lily of the valley , from his enclosed backyard ( a place never visited by Jesse Pinkman ) wouldn't destroy his copy of ' Leaves of Grass ' by Walt Whitman , complete with a handwritten tribute by the late lamented Gale Boetticher ( identifying him as the other ' W.W. ' ) .
But this same scrupulously , meticulous man , not only retained that particular book ( plus the inked inscription ) , but also paraded it on his toilet ( in the same house visited regularly by the tenacious Hank Schraeder )
Perhaps he was inflicted by an episode of somnambulism , when Hank discussed the killing of Gale Boetticher with him or when Hank speculated about who ' W.W.' was or Gale's interest in Walt Whitman's poetry ...
Or he just had amnesia & missed out that Agent Schraeder was obsessed with the hunt for ' Heisenberg ' ... an unfortunate side effect of his recent chemotherapy , perhaps ?
Too bad about the Skyler White backlash . Doesn't speak well of people calling the one ( sort of ) moral voice in the series , a ' b**** wife '.
Initially frantic with love & worry about Walter's hesitation to seek treatment , Skyler rapidly turned into a ferocious mother who is torn between keeping her children safe from Walter's nefarious activities & associates - seeking her to do the right thing & ask for a divorce ; torn enough by her love for Walter , to not report him & being terrified of his killings ; torn between figuring out that he's a criminal & wanting to look after him after his lobectomy ; torn between wanting to drive away to another state & living like a frozen shell who laundered his drug money .
Skyler also showed a keen intelligence in how she obtained Bogdan's car wash after he insulted her ; in how she tried to tone down Beneke's audit by appearing like an a ditzy , air- head to the taxman . Interesting that a woman of her cleverness & capacity to manipulate situations didn't use her powers for evil ,but only for clever tactics .
As right as she was (initially) Skyler isn't portrayed as a pleasant or charming woman - which may have lead to the backlash on Anna Gunn's character . A dismal state of affairs where viewers can't sympathise with a character who is suffering , just because she isn't sweet or appealing .
Skyler was at first reminiscent of the second Mrs . Corleone who questioned the conduct of her exalted husband Michael Corleone , unimpressed with money or power ( In stark contrast to the first Mrs. Corleone , who never questioned her husband , Vito Corleone - instead , wisely choosing to enjoy the benefits of living as the wife of a billionaire mafia godfather , posing as a benign Italian mama . Had she questioned the young Vito Corleone's ethics & not cooperated with him , she may not have had two sons & a grand-daughter who were gunned down & a son-in-law who was garrotted )
Criticism about R.J. Mitte's character was also odd - Walter Jr. was a nice son who seemed to be more mature & even-tempered than most 15 yr old boys . He took many things bravely in his stride - not acting out with his father's diagnosis , loving his family , playing with his baby sister , maturely enduring boys his age sniggering at his cerebral palsy in a clothing store , losing a Challeger in 15 hrs , enduring Hank lashing out at him from his hospital bed , trying to raise money for his father's treatment , hiding his disappointment gracefully from Skyler at the car he got for his 16 th b'day , supporting his father when he looked vulnerable & injured ( wrongly believing he was a gambling addict who relapsed & got into a brawl ) & fixing his broken glasses , getting angry with his father for hesitating to seek treatment , getting angry when his parents concealed matters from him & confused him ... what's not to like about Walter Jr. ?
In the final season , it was interesting to see the ' non - criminal ' adults , devolve . Under the strain of coming out to the Schraeders , Skyler requests Walter for a hit on Jesse ( which Walter doesn't heed to,at first ) ; Marie stupidly instucts Walter to commit suicide & then researches poisons to kill him ( which is strange since Walter never harmed her ... infact he helped her out with $ 176K worth of medical bills without taking credit for it , in front of Hank & also saved Hank from bankruptcy,from being sued by Jesse )
Equally devolved was Hank Schraeder , who cruelly forced Jesse into a risky sting operation , inspite of his refusals ; steamrolling Steve Gomez who voiced concerns about Jesse getting killed during the sting with a chilling reply about winning either way , if Jesse got murdered ( since Hank would have it on video as evidence .. cold blooded )
After Fring's death , Hank was ticked off by his superiors for playing favourites with his obsession with the elusive ' Heisenberg ' & neglecting all his other cases & duties as the newly promoted ASAC . His obsession continued even after he was ordered to call off the surveillance on Mike Ehrmantraut & close the case . Hank , not heeding to this order , lead to the death of Mike & the shanking of his 9 guys in prison along with their lawyer . Eventually , this unhealthy obsession lead to his own death & poor Gomez was part of the collateral damage .
Why did Schraeder want to arrest Walter so badly anyway .. the man was terminally ill with his second cancer . He was retired from the drug business .
Was it to serve justice to the criminals who died on the way ( like Fring ) or to their relatives ( like maybe Krazy 8's family ? ) Hank didn't care about pushing Jesse into a sting which could get him murdered - so he clearly wasn't doing this for the sanctity of the human life or for justice .
Or was it because Schraeder thought that his shooting by the Salamanca twins was because of Walter ? Was that why Marie slapped Skyler ? Well , it wasn't true anyway - Schraeder was shot because of Gustavo Fring . All Walter did was to pay $ 176K for Hank's therapy & ensure he didn't become a cripple ( & paying Jesse a $ 1.5 million partnership in Fring's set up , to not sue Hank & end his DEA career & bankrupt him )
Hank didn't even think of the legacy & permanent notoriety that would be left to Walter Jr. & Holly if their rapidly dying father were to be exposed .. or that they could lose their home , business etc. ; jeopardizing the innocents' reputation , education & future ; all for merely sending Walter to prison for a few weeks ...
Hank's mad bull-headed rage was pointless . It served no sensible purpose when the object of his obsession was completely retired & to be dead in 6 months or less .
Jesse Pinkman refered to Walter as a ' greedy a****** ' , & so it seemed , until the end , where Walter was ready to trade all his barrels of money to Jack in exchange for Hank's life . Walter's megalomania was mistaken for greed .
Walter interestingly took zero credit in front of Skyler for leaving nearly $ 10 million with the Schwartzes & when he gave her the GPS coordinates to Hank's & Steve's grave , for a better deal for herself - he didn't point out , that by first asking for a hit on Jesse ( which he was reluctant for ) , she was even more culpable in Hank's death , than he ever was ( ironically she slashes Walter with a knife for Hank's death )
In the end , the unstable , self destructive & occassionally homicidal , addict Jesse , was the complete undoing of both the careful Gustavo Fring & Walter White ( Fring should've stayed true to
his sound adage about never doing business with addicts & by extension , his wise decision to have no dealings with Walter ( an addict's partner.. ) which he revoked for an offer of $ 1.2 million for 38 pounds of meth. after being badgered by Walter , who falsely promised him that Pinkman was at his end & solely his problem )
Walter had to clean up many times behind Jesse ( like he was his dad .. ) to save themselves from situations created by Jesse's naive mistakes ( dying out in the desert in a dead RV without water , gassing Emilio & Krazy 8 , leading Hank to the RV ) or outright saving Jesse alone ( from his dangerous junkie girlfriend , Jane Margolis , who started him on heroin , from Fring after trying to kill Fring's dealers & from Jack's crew after Jesse set fire to Walter's retired life ) .
With each of his 3 guilty , nervous breakdowns ( after Combo's death , Gale's shooting , Mike's death ) he destroyed aplenty , like a self-destructive , emotional , homicidal , out-of-control bull in a china shop .
Combo's death & Jesse's suicidal determination to kill two of Fring's drug dealers , forced a neutral & unwilling Walter ( who was sailing smooth seas ) to take sides , culminating in Walter killing Fring , finally . Jesse ruined that for Walter .
Jesse's instability about Brock further destabilized Walter's retd. life by unravelling the stalemate between the Whites & the Schraeders causing Walter to lose his money , turn fugitive , Hank's & Gomez's death & Jesse's own enslavement by Jack's crew .
Massacring Jack & his crew seemed unnecessary & illogical to avenge Hank. Jack executing Hank wasn't personal- only pragmatic ( & a lot less cruel than Walter's pragmatic & cold blooded shanking of Mike's 9+1 guys )
Looking back Mike Ehrmantraut would've probably wished he didn't make that call to Gustavo , when he saw the Salamanca twins walk into Walter's house with axes . Gustavo would've carried on with Gale running the lab he himself assembled .
The end of the series with Walter completing his to-do list ( leaving money for his children with the Schwartzes , GPS coordinates for Skyler's deal & saying goodbye to her , seeing his children , freeing Jesse from slavery , poisoning Lydia etc. ) & dying of a GSW was more conclusive than the end of Dexter - where Dexter should've died in the hurricane & been buried at sea with Debra .
Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001)
The villain gets the girl . A romance for psychopaths ..
A deeply disturbing movie portraying a villain , a liar , a violent guy , a cheapster , a thug , a stalker & a loser without a career , as the ' romantic Indian hero ' .
Maddy Dayal is a deceptive , lying conman who is impersonating Rajeev Samra & fooling Rajeev's bride-to-be , Reena Malhotra ( who romances him mistakenly believing him , to be her future husband , Rajeev )
Reena drops him like a hot potato when she learns of the fraud & Maddy can't take the 'rejection' . He shows absolutely no contrition for his Big-Fat-Lies & his shameless impersonation of Rajeev .
Instead he's selfishly obsessed with possessing her , even against her will & begins to beg , plead & finally Stalk & Harass Reena , making her life a misery . At this point , his loathsome ass should've been sent to prison .
The icing on the cake was when Madhavan's despicable character Maddy , comically threatens to get violent with the real groom , Saif Ali Khan / Rajeev ( as if Rajeev was the person who was harassing Reena & forcing his unwelcome attentions on her ) when he finally arrives from the States for his wedding .
It was absolutely illogical - You need to take LSD or be stoned to be okay with Maddy's ' logic' , before this Oscar - worthy scene . Very high IQ stuff here ..
Maddy was ridiculous , when he was trying to channel the Terminator in his pseudo-menacing speech to Rajeev . Even his costume change to look 'tough' was comically contrived , artificial & very , very embarrassing .
Cringe-worthy & childish .
While he idiotically posed like Khal Drogo ( in his head .. ) - he seemed to have Zero perspective about how ridiculous , insincere & stupid he looked ( esp. since he was the real villain )
He probably felt like Leonidas ( again , in his head ! ) with his flaring nostrils , his cigarette , his constipated expression & his forced trembling rage .
What was the point in Maddy threatening ANY guy in the world when the girl had already rejected him ? ( The revolting creature wasn't even a valid suitor to be rejected in the first place . Just a cheap conman stealing a Better man's identity for 5 days to get close to a girl , who wouldn't have let him come within 100 feet of her otherwise .. )
The creepy-deepy had no understanding of the concept of consent , the bride' s free will or the grace to accept rejection like a gentleman & move on.
See Patrick Dempsey getting dumped at the altar in ' Sweet Home Alabama ' or Kevin McKidd in ' Made of Honor ' - these authentic grooms took it solidly on the chin ( without even deceiving the brides in the first place ) & exited as bonafide gentlemen with their honours intact .
Not that fake-groom-Maddy was a gentleman by any stretch of imagination .. or even a man ... he was a cartoon thug .
Despicable swine .
The other astounding thing in the film , apart from Maddy's deranged , selfish , whiny pursuit of Reena was that , none of his odious simian friends corrected him ( or pointed out how villainous & demonic he was being ) & neither did his contemptible father / Anupam Kher .
If Maddy deserved some thrashing ( for his fraudulent identity theft , his illicit romancing , his unhinged stalking , his deranged harassing of Reena & threatening violence to Rajeev ) - his imbecile ape of a father also richly deserved double that thrashing , for grooming a stalker .
If this kind of stalking & harassment passes off as ' Indian romance ' , maybe it's understandable why there are so many violent crimes in India against women by psycho-romeos who can't take ' no ' for an answer or whose egos get bruised like peaches , when they get dumped .
As another reviewer accurately pointed out - " Maddy's 'win' at the end of the film only emphasises that problem . "
A truly disturbing ending - where the heroine is so weak & confused that the deranged villain gets her & she leaves a good , sensitive , suitable groom for the dangerous stalker who fooled & threatened her .
She would've have made a better decision about her future if she'd taken a break from both guys & the whole wedding scene for a few months .( Time & distance would've restored her balance & she could've seen Maddy for the garbage he really was & Rajeev as a worthy man to marry )
But sadly , she didn't give herself that chance & threw away her life to become Mrs. Garbage ...
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
Not for tennis fans !
This movie was more like watching a prolonged , semi - boring cricket match in a stadium , rather than a film in a theatre .
The novelty of this period film wore off halfway through the movie & the only recurring thought was ' how much longer is this tedious film ? '
There are several famous films which run into the 3 - 4 hour categories & are engaging in every frame , right till the end . Sadly , Lagaan isn't one of those ...
Was relieved when it go over . Took off from the theatre at top speed & haven't cared to revisit this mind - numbingly long film in 17 years .
Though a different genre , Nagesh Kukunoor's ' Iqbal ' ( 2005 ) is a much better ' Indian cricket ' film . Low budget , yet high in content .
( Aamir Khan could've done without embellishing his character Bhuvan - an illiterate indian villager , with an aristocratic white lady , Ms. Russell , being silently in love with him - if I remember correctly , the film was ridiculous enough to absurdly imply that she was so in love with him that she remained unmarried till she died - such are the preposterous fantasies & daydreams of desi boys ... Lol . Khan seems to have a pattern - he had a white fan in 'Rang de basanti ' as well ... )
America 3000 (1986)
It's an oldie
Saw this film on a vhs tape a loong time back . I would've given it 10 stars then , since it was a mega hit with me ( as a 7 year old )
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Imperfect . Yet thought provoking ..
New at Wellesley from the West coast in 1953 , a pedigree'less' Katherine Watson has been portrayed as a cerebral , trailblazing art history teacher , ahead of her time , who's trying to save her upper crust students from readily falling into moulds of stepford wives , awaiting them after graduation , but to instead , go against the grain and do something else - like become lawyers instead .
Four female students highlighted as recipients of Katherine's influence are Betty Warren , Joan Brandwyn , Connie Baker & Giselle Levy .
This enchanting premise would've gone down better if Ms. Watson wasn't also engaging in casual intimacies with a colleague who taught Italian , the lying Wellesley lothario , Bill Dunbar ( who slept with female students - a disgusting fact known to Katherine )
Watson's image as the intellectual , modern , crusading feminist is irreparably corroded when it also includes gleefully hopping in the sack with the likes of Dunbar .
Neither did it help her image in the film when Katherine started up with Dunbar right after dumping Paul , her longterm boyfriend who travelled 3000 miles to ( imperfectly ) propose to her over Christmas - poor chap didn't even have a place to sleep . He just had to pick up his luggage & head out into the snow in the middle of the night after getting his proposal rejected & his heart stomped on ( imagine how well it would sit with the audience if an old girlfriend travelled 3k miles on Christmas Eve , to be dumped by the boyfriend who instantly starts a torrid affair with his new colleague with a sketchy reputation ... )
On her first day in Wellesley , instead of being surprised & impressed with her knowledgeable students , Katherine looked shattered & eviscerated after her first lecture . Not the picture of a confident , trailblazing feminist .
Katherine has almost no visible impact on Connie Baker in the film who carries out a charming romance with a gentlemanly Charlie Stewart ( the film seemed to imply that plump Connie should be grateful to manage to snag a boyfriend at all )
On the other hand , Giselle Levy masochistically admired Katerine's illicit affair with Bill Dunbar & emulated her . Any impact of Katherine on the pleasantly sardonic Giselle was only for Giselle to validate her already nauseatingly sordid love life as mistress to a married man ( after being dumped by Dunbar for Katherine ) This didn't stop the deeply damaged Giselle from politely stalking Dunbar anyway , hoping he would take her back . Excruciatingly pathetic . What about that was dignified , evolved or feminist ? How embarrassing ... 😬
Even Giselle's conclusion that Katherine was too good for semi-scum like Dunbar ( & so was she ) , sadly seemed to stem from being spurned by him , rather than actual unbiased good sense .
Katherine influences pre-law achiever , Joan Brandwyn to pursue a degree in law . Joan underestimates herself & thinks she will be happy as Harvard boyfriend , Tommy Donegal's wife . It didn't seem to occur to her while she did Tommy's homework that she could complete Yale law as well . Curiously , she knew the admission procedure to Yale for Wellesley girls & was just sitting on that information . When Katherine discovers this , she does the best thing she did in the entire movie - she nudges that dormant ambition & brings it to life , spurring Joan to apply to Yale . Joan gets in & keeps it secret awhile .
Conformist Betty Warren on the other hand is born & groomed to be a stepford wife & fiercely upholds traditional family values , making her clash bitterly with Katherine .
Betty clashes openly & face-to-face with Katherine & takes the bull by the horns over controversial matters like contraception being provided ( illegally by the Wellesley nurse ) to unmarried , promiscuous students & ho-hum matters like leave-taking after being newly married . For her age , Katherine bullies Betty & pettily threatens her with a failed grade , when she returns from her honeymoon & thinks that the younger Betty is entitled ; while Betty is openly hostile since she considers Katherine , ' subversive '.
In her personal life Betty is a paragon of good breeding & an eager , innocent bride who wishes to be a devoted , loving wife . The world she's conforming to ( & hotly defending to Katherine ) does not treat her well & begins to crumble around her when she marries the indifferent Spencer Jones , her prince charming ( or so she thought )
She's further bewildered when her controlling iron - fisted mother , who instead of rectifying any situation with Spencer , imparts lessons to Betty to keep up appearances to the outside world & survive being married to less-than-loving husbands by sweetly manipulating them ( starting with the poem which Betty's mother wanted Spencer to read out at the wedding ) ... maybe Mrs. Warren after decades of being jaded & dissapointed by her own husband , thought all high society marriages were less than perfect & that she was doing the best for Betty - who might as well accept the facts of life early & make her peace with it artfully & gracefully esp. since it seemed to Mrs. Warren that there were no better options for a well born young lady in the '50s .
A bewildered Betty obeys her mother , unenthusiastically but hopefully . Her hope still sparkles when she poses for pictures with Spencer & shows her new washer & dryer to Joan and gently & genuinely wishes the same fulfilled dreams of domestic bliss for Joan as well . However , Joan's news about the Yale law application form is misunderstood by Betty , who sees Katherine as a promiscuous older spinster - the snake in the garden , trying to mislead Joan & sabotage her fairytale ending with Tommy .
Tommy Donegal on the other hand dissapoints Katherine by stating that he was proud that Joan got into Yale law school & that ' she would always have that ' with his toxic expectations ( & jokes ) that she couldn't go to Yale & punctually put dinner on the table for him .
Katherine goes out of the way to find middle ground for Joan . But Joan was the one who finally dissapointed Katherine by eloping with Tommy & giving up her Yale admission , rather easily .
Joan's frigid speech to Katherine on her porch , stiffly berating her for looking down at housewives who gave up their careers was one worth applauding ( except for the fact that , that speech applied more to girls who really wanted to choose such options & Joan definitely didn't start out as one of those - while she wistfully considered Yale & a legal career which she gave up , not because it was her real choice , but because Tommy was a flight risk who took too much time to propose & expected her to sacrifice Yale for him )
Joan seemed to have dissapointed herself - but it was clear that she wasn't ever going to admit that to Katherine ( or to herself ) while she hesitatingly held up her ring & with a frozen face , unconvincingly claimed that her elopement was ' very romantic ' . She gathered steam with her speech that followed immediately after seeing Katherine's expression .
That speech she inflicted on Katherine would've been more sincere & correct coming from devoted house wives like Betty Warren .
Meanwhile Spencer's sleazy adultery is the straw that finally breaks the camel's back - Betty Warren files for divorce , again surprising Katherine ( after Joan ) with her plans to go study law , bucking her mother's entreaties to not wash dirty linen in public & to keep up appearances - which Betty likens to the famous painting , asking her mother about true happiness while keeping up appearances - " She's smiling Mother , but is she happy ? "
Faerie Tale Theatre: The Tale of the Frog Prince (1982)
An eccentric take on the old classic
I remember Teri Garr as the princess , asking why she would want to marry a ( dragon - slaying ) prince when she was already a princess .
She thought it made more sense to marry a king , so that she could be queen 😂 ... logical , spoilt & angling for a promotion ... My parents loved the episode . ( I hadn't developed a taste for satire & questionable humour in the in the '90's ... )
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Kinda boring .
The title is unintelligible . What is ' slumdog ' anyway ? It makes no sense , is not in usage & is offensive to hear . Who calls a slum dweller a ' dog ' ?! No one does .
The lead was miscast . Neither Patel nor his accent were realistic for a call - centre chaiwallah . I don't know how many govt. school kids know about the three musketeers , let alone unlettered urchins . Too far fetched .
The only terrifying thing I learned from the movie was that thugs can gouge out perfectly good eyes to make a child beg .
Mira Nair's ' Salaam Bombay ' is a better watch for people who want to watch authentic ' Indian slum ' movies .
Seen ' Slumdog millionaire ' twice - still don't like it . ( And the 'bollywood' dancing in the film made me cringe ! Danny Boyle didn't seem to get what genre of hindi films has those kind of performances )
One True Thing (1998)
The ending was in bad taste
Meryl Streep's character committed suicide in the end .
Why ? Because she didn't want to inconvenience her self-centred , weak husband anymore or thought overdosing on pills was more dignified .. ?
And the father & daughter are keeping quiet , thinking that the other overdosed the mother to put her out of her misery - they don't realize it till later , that mommy offed herself ( at the discovery of which - they commented that mommy was ' brave ' to euthanize herself 😳 ) Miserable .
That's not brave . That's the opposite of brave .
This unnecessary twist in the ending spoilt the entire film for me .
Umrao Jaan (1981)
Could've been better edited ...
Little Amiran is getting decked by her mother in gold & flowers on her engagement day . When he mounts his horse , she asks her father to get her oranges & dolls , amusing her mother .
While Amiran's father is away , she's abducted by Dilawar, who has just completed a 12 year stint in prison , thanks to Amiran's ' daroga ' father . In a desolate place , she's locked up with Ramdei - another tearful little girl , abducted from a fair . The two children embrace each other in the dark and cry for their families .
Soon a buyer arrives - a representative of a local begum who purchases Amiran to be part of her household . In the last moment the broker changes her mind & takes Ramdei since the begum had specified a fair girl & Amiran was dusky .
That leaves Amiran by default to the only other buyer - Khanum Jaan , the madam of a luxurious establishment catering to the wealthy louches of Lucknow in 1840 , British India .
Amiran is ushered into a vast courtyard to be presented to a bejewelled , hookah - smoking , brocade - swathed , reclining Khanum & sold . Khanum flanked by her lieutenant , Husseini ( a retired courtesan ) & protege Bismillah renames Amiran , Umrao .
Khanum casually claims her innocence in the child-trafficking by snorting in derision at the kidnappers , commenting to Husseini that she had no idea where the little girls were procured from & that if it wasn't at her establishment - the traffickers would've sold Amiran at another , anyway . Husseini agrees & adds that Amiran would grow under Khanum in luxury .
Neither Khanum nor Husseini hypocrtically act on Amiran's claims that she was kidnapped from Faisabad & that her father is a ' Daroga ' there . ( To show their true colours , Amiran receives a beating from Khanum when she attempts an escape in the middle of the night )
Umrao tries to forget her life as Amiran & Faisabad & embraces her gilded cage , losing herself in expensive classical music & dance training with Bismillah . She leaves behind her oranges & dolls , & instead grows up being decked in jewellery & expensive fabrics in Khanum's opulent mansion , surrounded by persian carpets , marble columns , musical instruments & luxury . She channels her melancholy by showing a flair for composing ' shayari ' & learns under Maulvi , Husseini's paramour - an aging , sedate man .
A grown up Umrao quickly attains fame as an accomplished courtesan with her fine dancing , melodious singing & her mellifluous ghazals attracting well-heeled , aristocratic black-sheep from all over Lucknow , including the affluent Nawab Sultan , a bachelor .
Her illicit , poetry-infused romance with with Nawab Sultan ( a paying customer ) was idyllic ( including when Nawab Sultan confided to her that he was being pressurized to marry ) . Umrao advices him to obey his mother ( getting upset only when he tells her that he can't be her patron once he marries ).
Just like Umrao , Bismillah also favours one of her patrons more than the others & carries out a pointless romance with that aristocrat . When Khanum Jaan after being paid off by the aristocrat's mother , gets rid of him , Bismillah , in the light of her doomed romance , loses her loyalty to Khanum .
When Khanum Jaan's entourage goes for a picnic in the countryside , Bismillah is carried off by dacoits . The entourage is devastated at the horrors that Bismillah maybe subjected too & are paralyzed that they don't even have a body to bury .
Later , a wealthy , dark stranger arrives at the mansion in pursuit of Umrao . Faiz Ali quickly becomes Umrao's confidant with his warmth & genuine interest in her .
He gets concerned after he secretly witnesses Umrao illogically ripping up Nawab Sultan's robes when he announces his wedding . Faiz's heart bleeds for Umrao & he offers to take Umrao away to his estate to divert her from her melancholy . Umrao asks Faiz Ali to make arrangements with Khanum - to which he readily agrees & leaves .
After her showdown with Nawab Sultan , Umrao is desolate & withdrawn . Khanum gets a contract for Umrao to perform a ' mujra ' at an event in Sitapur . Umrao in her depression refuses to perform . This is when an outwardly motherly Husseini gets rough & dictates that Umrao has no choice .
After many years of living with Khanum's household , Umrao thought of them as family , forgetting her childhood trauma , singing & dancing willingly .
Now Umrao could see again that she was part of the ' family ' only because she was their cash cow who was being ' lovingly ' exploited all these years . They were her ' family ' only as long as she brought in the cash to maintain their lavish lifestyles .
This realization makes Umrao take drastic measures . The next time the gallant Faiz Ali rides into town , Umrao doesn't ask him to leave a deposit with Khanum , like she did on his last visit ; she instead elopes with Faiz , who obliges by helping her up on his horse .
Unknown to Umrao , Faiz is a wanted man who gets hunted down by the soldiers of a local ruler . He's shot dead in front of her . Umrao is captured by the soldiers & interrogated by the ruler .
He lets go of her when he finds out that she used to be Bismillah's companion . Umrao is surprised to find that Bismillah instead of being dead or worse , had gotten a new lease of life & was thriving as the ruler's wife ( after his soldiers captured the dacoits who'd kidnapped her )
Though she was pleased to see Umrao - she was clear that she wanted nothing to do with Khanum or her entourage & wouldn't inform them that she was alive .
Umrao also longs to get away from Khanum ; Bismillah sets her up in Kanpur . Inspite of losing Faiz , Umrao bravely starts a new life alone where she freelances as a ghazal singer , barely surviving .
She accepts an invitation to sing at a little boys party , when the mother recognizes Umrao as Amiran . It was Ramdei .
After seeing Bismillah's horror turned to redemption , Umrao marvels sadly at how a last minute change in the sale made Ramdei the daughter-in-law of respectable people while Umrao fell into Khanum's hands .
To make matters worse , she discovers that Ramdei is Nawab Sultan's wife & was originally purchased as a companion by his mother. The begum , to subvert Nawab Sultan's estranged father's efforts to marry him off to his niece had got him married to her trusted Ramdei , who grew up in her care .
Though all three girls started from the same unlucky circumstances - Ramdei & Bismillah were miraculously delivered from their bleak destinies , while Umrao's last effort to restart life as Amiran , had failed with Faiz's death .
Husseini & Gauhar find Umrao in Kanpur & plead with her to return , claiming Khanum's ill health . Umrao returns to Lucknow to find Khanum looking well & realizes she was duped by Husseini & Gauhar - at that point Umrao declares her intent to return to Kanpur . Khanum feigns a casual reaction & asks Umrao to stay over for the festival before returning to Kanpur .
While Umrao is out of ear-shot , Khanum chillingly says that it didn't look like Umrao would stay with them willingly anymore & that other measures needed to be taken to restrain Umrao . They accomplish that with a false certificate of marriage between Umrao & Gauhar . Umrao is trapped . All of Khanum's machinations come to an end when the 1857 rebellion breaks out & they have to flee the city en-masse .
Umrao just walks away from the camp one night while the others are asleep . Maulvi sees her leaving & says nothing out of love for Umrao .
She returns to her place in Kanpur & restarts freelancing , but doesn't make much money with plain ghazal singing ( without lucrative ' mujras ' )
When she does finally get a gig for a ' mujra ' , she recognizes her old neighbourhood from her childhood days as Amiran . Full of hope , Umrao locates her family home & finds her tearful old mother who hugs her . Her father is no more .
The reunion is cut short when Umrao's brother refuses to acknowledge Amiran , instead telling his mother that she's ' Umrao Jaan - a famous courtesan from Lucknow ' . He implies that Amiran should've drowned herself than submit to her profession . Umrao runs away in tears . Her wailing mother is stopped by her brother .
Umrao has failed a fourth time at finding a place for herself in the outside world after her failure at trying to escape Khanum's mansion as a child , her doomed romance with Nawab Sultan , her elopement with Faiz Ali & finally her rejection by her brother .
Realizing that there was no place in the world for Amiran - she returns to Khanum's mansion in Lucknow & finds it looted & empty , symbolic of Umrao being emptied of hope at redeeming herself .
Dexter (2006)
Doesn't lose any steam from season 1 to 8 .
The series is pretty engaging but has a few minor inconsistencies ( for which I'm reducing two stars ) .
Dexter's method of injecting people in the neck while they don't react is poorly done ( they just stand like flaccid dummies with their arms at their sides ) Normal people will flinch violently even for mosquito bites, let alone someone pricking their necks.
Season 2 - The casual spinal dose he gave a standing Lila before killing her -absolutely impossible - ask any anaesthesiologist .
Season 5 - The foulest thing he ever did was to kill Stan Liddy - who didn't meet the hallowed " code " of Harry . Dexter didn't even hesitate to plan to kill Joseph Quinn ( just before Liddy captured Dexter ) - Quinn didn't meet the code either ( Neither did the foul mouthed redneck , he murdered on the day of Rita's funeral - plain blood-lust . That foul redneck didn't even attack him - so Dexter killing him wasn't even self-defence... so much for the ' code ' .. )
Season 4 - during the raid on Trinity's house - Dexter steps out of a coffin in the garage while the garage door is being opened - it wasn't convincing that none of the raiding team found it suspicious as to how he was already inside , even before the door was opened. Even his sister didn't spot that . ( And do unarmed forensic techs accompany armed raiding teams & go inside with them spontaneously ? ) This was even more unbelievable than him pointing out Dan the dentist's body to Debra & Masuka as if he'd just arrived at the scene ( it was puzzling how a cop & a forensic guy were at the scene before a crime or a body was even found or reported ) Funny .
The cops trying to get sketches of Kyle Butler from Arthur Mitchell's family was odd too - couldn't the Mitchell family just point out the guy who was present in the same house during the raid ?
Season 5 - Dexter stabs Jordan Chase's foot with a knife . His stolen red car flipped just before that - when he gathered his bearings - Jordan Chase was already aiming a gun at him - when did Dexter open his kit & slip a knife out ? When the car was in mid-flip ? When Chase pushed him down the stairs - Dexter's hands are clearly seen tied behind his back - he's not holding a knife . Even if he was concealing one - he would've injured himself when he was pushed downstairs. Chase had the tool kit.
Quinn , who was so instinctive , correlating Kyle Butler with Dexter - didn't react to the highly incriminating evidence Stan Liddy was practically shoving under his nose day after day ? What happened - did Quinn suddenly inhale chloroform ? weed ? get a lobotomy ? forget being a cop ?
Quinn knew that Liddy was investigating Dexter - when Liddy was horribly murdered - who did Quinn think had murdered poor Liddy ?!!
With no evidence he could instinctively link Dexter & Kyle Butler & Rita's murder - but he wouldn't link Dexter to Liddy's murderer - & instead just nervously deleted Liddy's calls from his cell-phone - unbelievable .
Season 6 - In the first episode Dexter attends his 20th high school reunion to implicate his classmate Joe of his wife Janet's death 3 yrs earlier . Dexter obtains Joe's DNA by elbowing his nose during a rugby game & finds a match for it in the database against the DNA from the blood found under Janet's fingernails - this is incomprehensible - the Virginia police handling the case couldn't find a match for the blood under the victim's nails against the victim's own husband for 3 yrs ? Lame ...
Saudagar (1973)
Ruthless pragmatism vs Compassionate forgiveness
Another ethereal , elegant film from the '70's with nuanced performances .
Moti , a bachelor , leads an idyllic , rural life in a bucolic Bengali village in what appears to be the '70's .
He seasonally leases date palms from landowners & taps them for ' ras ' , employing an impoverished widow , Mahjubeen , to work her magic at turning the sap into ' gur ' ( a solidified highly-in-demand , end product ) that sells out in minutes at the farmers market , leaving the other traders of the palm-sugar cakes envious of Moti's business partnership with Mahjubeen .
A quiet , smiling Moti , takes his success for granted & tries to maximize his profits by bargaining with Mahjubeen , but she is unable to comply , citing her poverty & desperate circumstances.
Moti's chief preoccupation during this 'ras' season is to procure a wife - one who is as beautiful & as young as possible & for whom he has to pay the least ' mehr ' ( islamic custom of bride-price paid to the bride's parents ) But the village broker quotes increasing ' mehr 's ( Rs. 150/-to 250/- ) for decreasing ages ( 18 to 15 ) He jocularly implies that Moti is too choosy ( & cheap ) & has a taste for champagne on a beer budget .
All of Moti's Ebenezer Scrooge / Scrooge McDuck ways evaporate , the moment he lays eyes on his Roop-ki-rani , a plump maiden whom he follows across the river into a neighbouring village . If Moti's character wasn't written as him being a man of few words , I wonder if the director would've shown him gaping at her with an open mouth .
So smitten is he, by Phoolbano - that he doesn't discard the idea of pursuing her even when he encounters her taciturn father's jaw-dropping ' mehr ' of Rs. 500/- for her .
Pragmatic Moti immediately proposes to the impecunious Mahjubeen . The miserable , sad widow is taken aback at first - but accepts .
Her mild , aging , brother - in - law who occassionally visits , is pleased at the change in her circumstances & blesses them both , in contrast to her busy-body gossipy neighbours . One of the village belles who flirted outrageously with the bachelor Moti is so outraged with his choice of a widow over her own charming self , that she perjures herself blatantly with false assertions of him ogling her in the past . However , neither Moti nor Mahjubeen are aware of these tempests in teapots .
After moving to her new home , Mahjubeen slowly steps out of the chrysalis of her frozen, lonely existence & is quickly catapulted into a crescendo of joy as she transforms herself into a bride , gladly embracing domesticity & companionship , gratefully . Hope dawns on her desolate life .
Moti continues tapping date palms & Mahjubeen's talent continues to leave Moti's competition in the dust.
Unknown to Mahjubeen, Moti pays a visit to Phoolbano's father to present the ' mehr ' . The old man is unimpressed & between puffs of his little hookah , grunts his disapproval , telling Moti that he heard he has already taken a wife.
His languid demeanour unruffled , Moti chillingly remarks in an off-hand way that Mahjubeen is a miniscule issue in the grander scheme of his plans & would be ' blown away by the western wind ' at the end of the ' ras ' season . Phoolbano's father acquiesces by extending his hookah to Moti & his casual cruelty .
At the end of the ' ras ' season , Moti does come by his home with a ' Qazi ' & rather coolly issues Mahjubeen a divorce . Along with the 'ras ' season , the sun sets on Mahjubeen's brief season of hope .
Part of Moti's calm blitzkrieg is to foully accuse the devoted Mahjubeen of adultery with her own aging brother-in-law. She leaves repulsed & enraged , suddenly aware of how she was exploited & why .
Mahjubeen returns to her indigent state , worse off than before , since she's heartbroken & been ruthlessly hoodwinked out of an entire ' ras ' season of earnings , which she forewent happily as Moti's wife .
Completely unruffled & without a trace of regret , Moti brings in his new bride , launching himself into his second rustic honeymoon & the two embark on a financially comfortable start to their marriage ( thanks to Mahjubeen's corvee labour ) . Their rosy life & spending spree continues & the next ' ras ' season rolls in .
Moti carries on tapping as he does every year & brings in the ' ras ' for Phoolbano to prepare . When his product doesn't do well at the market that year , he quickly catches on that the former success that he took for granted , was because of Mahjubeen .
A wounded Mahjubeen remarries Mahji , a gentle widower who has little children & leaves for her new home . The joy she felt at marrying an unworthy man like Moti would've been better reserved for a better man like Mahji . She adjusts to her new life of tranquility . However , seeing her new dignified, husband having a quiet time with his hookah in the evening , reminds her of Moti , momentarily re-opening Mahjubeen's old wounds . She soldiers on .
In the mean time , Moti has had a disastrous season , financially . Now it's his turn to be destitute , switching places with where he'd left Mahjubeen , in his carelessly , brutal selfishness that may have appeared pragmatic to him earlier .
He's left reticent & thunderstruck at his catastrophic losses . After a long time spent contemplating his life ( or penury ? ) , sitting deep in thought , he finally gets up & like a man who's made up his mind , he unhurriedly & bravely ( is it bravery or just plain thick-skin ? ) walks to Majhi's house , followed covertly by Phoolbano .
Moti has an obstinate streak - it's unclear wether he's truly contrite or is a tenacious , shameless survivor who will fake contrition to re-establish old business ties with Mahjubeen . Either way , with his dejected , downcast eyes , he looks like a dog that's prepared to be kicked .
Mahjubeen is incensed to see Moti in her courtyard after Mahji magnanimously receives him kindly & looks pained at Mahjubeen's sharp tongue while Moti squats masochistically in front of Mahji , expressionlessly enduring the unflattering tongue-lashing issuing from within the house .
Mahjubeen's acid rain gets arrested when she locks eyes with the creeping , pathetic figure of the woman for whom Moti tormented & discarded her .
Mahjubeen's compassion eclipses her righteous rage at the injustice , penury , rejection , & heartbreak inflicted on a harmless innocent like her & she goes forth & embraces Phoolbano , illustrating how beautifully different her merciful heart is , from Moti's .
Shabd (2005)
Would watch it again ...
Award winning author , Shaukat Vashist's last work has been widely panned by critics leaving him frozen with writer's block for over 2 years . A new colleague Yash , who gets attracted to his lovely wife Antara , rekindles Shaukat's inspiration , unexpectedly propelling him to write again .
Working from home , Shaukat benignly encourages Antara's workplace-friendship with Yash ( who is unaware that Antara is married ).
In his heart , Shaukat wants Antara to make the right choice & be faithful to him , though intellectually he has presented her with options ... & he himself ends up getting caught in the suspense of what Antara will do & how far she will go ( though he isn't admitting that to himself - to admit that , is akin to powerlessness to Shaukat , esp. since he's regained control of his writer's block by rising from the ashes as an all-powerful-author who is orchestrating events , by his ability to predict human behaviour )
In the long run however , this suspense begins to takes its toll on Shaukat & partially unhinges him .
He thinks that he can cope with the possibility that Antara may choose Yash over him , by staying ahead of the story in real time , with his clairvoyant-like-predictions ; thus granting himself a false sense of control over the outcome ( like, if he can't control Antara's free will, he can control the narrative by his superiority as an insightful author & thus give her permission by proxy - his ultimate illusion of control )
This is where his chief concern about curing his writer's block & rejuvenating his career is quickly overshadowed by his carefully-concealed-anxiety , over the outcome of the love triangle involving Yash ( although Shaukat is elegantly blase about it outwardly )
The two concerns get interwoven.
Finally, the story he's writing is the one where Antara's rejection of Yash crushes him to the point where Yash kills himself - this was to be Shaukat's magnum opus as an author ( & validation as Antara's only true love ) .
But in reality , Yash handled the rejection maturely - subverting Shaukat's expectations & ultimately precipitating his complete unhinging by making Shaukat confront his lack of Merlin-like-control over circumstances & outcomes .
Haider (2014)
Blood-curdling Masterpiece
Vishal Bhardhwaj's magnum opus.
Like Omkara's dark horses,Saif Ali Khan & Deepak Dobriyal : Haider has its very own dark horse - Kay Kay Menon & his gripping rendition of Khurram Meer / King Claudius.
Bhardwaj has interestingly adapted Hamlet to the rise of Pakistani-sponsored-terrorism in the formerly peaceful South-Western parts of Jammu & Kashmir in the '90's - the most interesting being , Irrfan Khan's cameo, Roohdar,as the Ghost of Hamlet's father.
Roohdar carries the message of retribution to Haider against Khurram Meer & just like the Old King's ghost asked Hamlet to spare Queen Gertrude for heavenly justice, so does Dr.Hilal Meer request the same for Ghazala Meer.
Bhardwaj hasn't shied away from Prince Hamlet's/ Haider's Oedipal complex & the undercurrent between him & Ghazala - a beguiling portrayal by Tabu with echoes of ambiguity like Desdemona/Dolly (that confused Othello/Omkara)
Gazala is tantalizingly ambiguous,leaving Haider confused about her guilt till the very end - ambiguous about her adultery, her true intent in Hilal's arrest & her manipulation of Haider with threats of suicide.
Arshi,like Ophelia is trapped in her loyalty to both Haider & her father Polonius / Pervez Lone.
Arshi demonstrates a 'charming' example of asinine subcontinental racism in her opening scene,where a North Indian moronically,refers to a South Indian as 'Masala Dosa'.
Bhardwaj has inserted a little red scarf into the film, that poetically traces its path from Arshi to Pervez to Haider & back to Pervez & finally to a grieving Arshi - the scarf being unravelled by the same hands that knitted them.
Haider burns in the same confusion as Hamlet did. While Hamlet doubted his father's ghost as a deceptive demon: Haider fears choosing between Roohdar's & Khurram's contradictory versions of Hilal's death.
Haider's dilemma is resolved when he finally overhears Khurram's confession while at prayer,displaying the remarkable self-awareness that Claudius possessed while he prayed, "O, my offence is rank,it smells to heaven"
Kapoor trembling with a gun,behind an oblivious Kay Kay Menon is one of the several electrifying scenes in the film.
Other adaptations from Hamlet are Liyaqat being used by Khurram to kill Haider as Laertes was by Claudius , Haider holding Arshi in her grave as Hamlet did with Ophelia , Haider's wedding dance like Hamlet's play to test Claudius' guilt.
In contrast to Hilal's request for revenge,Haider's paternal grandfather's ( Kulbhushan Kharbanda ) voice resonates till the end when Gazala reinforces his wisdom,that revenge starts a vicious cycle & no true freedom is to be attained through it,when he pointed out the ridiculousness of people demanding for freedom when they were already free.
After collapse of the USSR in '91, the militants who warred against the Soviets for a decade were unemployed - this dangerous, unsavoury population was put to work by the likes of Zia-ul- Haq ( after humiliating defeats in 3 wars with India-'48,'65,'72 ) who transferred this blood-thirsty crowd from the Western Af-Pak borders to the Eastern Indian borders & started infiltration,brainwashing & bloodshed in the peaceful state in the '90s.
Haider is a victim of this brainwashing & shows delinquent tendencies as a schoolboy when he's caught carrying a gun in his schoolbag & defies both parents when they try to send him to Aligarh to save his future from ruin.Later Haider shows no qualms in murdering a guard,bludgeoning two acquaintances ( the Salmans- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern ) to death & killing Arshi's father.
Ghazala risks her life to save schoolboy Haider's future & education,while Haider suspects her tactics as manipulation. She obligingly puts an end to her ambiguity when she ultimately sacrifices her life for Haider ( like Gertrude drinks the poison, Claudius arranged for Hamlet )
In the blood-curdling finale, Khurram demonstrates that ,though guilty of fratricide - his love for Ghazala was true. While everyone fled from Ghazala, Khurram shockingly & bravely runs towards her .
Finally when Haider could've had his revenge & has conflicting voices of his father in his mind clashing with his grand-father's & mother's, he walks away. His grand father & Gazala's voice prevailed.
Half Girlfriend (2017)
Exploitative , dishonest tactics to forcibly bag an out-of-league girlfriend .
Repulsive movie trying to pass off a thuggish , backward village Oaf who is trying to trap a well-bred , upper class girl by cunningly befriending her first - as a ' love ' story . Disgusting .
Hillbilly Madhav Jha , moons after a wealthy Riya Somani , who is completely out of his league .
He still , single-mindedly targets an unsuspecting Riya & successfully ensnares her by first becoming her basketball 'buddy' - while she naively , treats him fairly & kindly as a fellow student & eventually as a sort-of-friend .
But apparently , once Madhav attained his target - the prized friend status - that wasn't enough for him . The predatory bumpkin got
ambitious .
He actively wormed his way further into a gullible Riya's life & psyche , ( making her psychologically dependant on him & prone to his manipulations ) with his predatory agenda & kept weaving his ' friendship ' web around her , upping the ante with each step - taking her out for a movie ( even if she specifically insisted that they were just hanging out ) , luring her to his room with the pretense of her resting - an opportunity he seizes to try to force himself on her . Disdainful Swine .
When ( instead of slapping him ) she discourages him politely - Madhav , like a disgusting coward , changes his colours & misuses his existing relationship with her to bully her into submission to have sex with him !
When that fails too - he begins to verbally & physically harrass & intimidate & coerce her . He made my skin crawl ...
This is just the first hour of this benighted film - the rest is even worse .
If this is Chetan Bhagats idea of ' love ' - he requires a swift kick up his backside .
Madhav's nauseous behaviour would've been better represented in the movie as the films obsessed , predatory STALKER rather than as the ' hero '.
Nothing new in predatory lover-boy tactics , like using information of a young woman's troubled relationship with her family & exploiting it fully , as an
opportunity to get close to her .
( And close the deal by providing agenda-driven psychological support in the guise of a 'best buddy' to bag her )
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Artful film about illicit , adulterous passion.
An artfully made film about illicit , adulterous passion between middle-aged , bored , restless , small-town housewife , Mrs. Francesca Johnson / Meryl Streep & a National Geographic photographer , Robert Kincaid / Clint Eastwood ; a bachelor on assignment in Iowa for a week , to photograph its covered bridges in 1965 .
Although this film is portrayed as a great ' love ' story- it is actually Francesca who takes the initiative to prey on an unsuspecting Robert and seduce him ( with multiple offers to show him directions to a bridge he's searching for , later peeking at him through gaps in the wooden bridge , spying on him when he took off his shirt to wash up , invitations for lemonade at noon / dinner in the evening , when she's alone at home, going upstairs & tarting herself up with earrings for Kincaid's benefit )
Each time the current activity runs out- Francesca ingeniously finds a new way to prolong her discourse with Kincaid by further plying him with fresh invitations.
Robert appears genuine , friendly & genial and the two forge an instantaneous friendship.
After a daytime encounter in a diner with Ms. Redfield , the town's ' bad woman ' , where Robert Kincaid sees how another adulterous woman is treated as an outcast by the townspeople , Kincaid contemplates putting the brakes on his new friendship with Mrs. Johnson.
Being an out-of-towner, Kincaid had nothing to lose , yet he was not an opportunist & was empathetic enough to ernestly caution Francesca against going out on a friendly day trip with him while he worked , so that she wouldn't get 'compromised' around town .
But Francesca was too unethical & determined in her pusuit of passion , excitement & her plans to see Kincaid , no matter what ( even loosely purchasing a new dress to go out with him ) Neither did having a 17 year old son, a daughter & being married for two decades to a good & honest man, Richard Johnson & backstabbing him ( while he was away for 4 days at the Illinois state fair with their children ) weigh too heavily on Francesca - who was determined to live vicariously through Robert Kincaid, questioning him closely about his travels / exotic destinations / romantic trysts which seemed exciting to her , in contrast to her own dull Iowa farm life .
By the second evening Francesca manages to attain her goal to sleep with Kincaid, finally experiencing passion in her dull life . They drive out of town on further day trips to jazz joints etc .
When Francesca's 4 days of being alone are almost up ( before her family returned ) she , without provocation , lashes out at Robert ( who was consistently genial & gentlemanly - for a man who's sleeping with another's wife ) , angry that she had reduced herself to just another one of Kincaids romantic trysts from around the globe .
Her anger didn't stem from any post-coital , adulterous regret or guilt about back-stabbing her poor husband ; but from her insecurity about being a plain , uninteresting farm wife who lived in the middle of nowhere and her longing to be special to someone exotic like Robert Kincaid .
After her unkind ( & uncalled for ) attack , Robert Kincaid , always the gentleman , doesn't respond in kind , but shockingly rises to the occassion , assures her that his association with her is special to him and puts his money where his mouth is by asking her to leave with him , risking his own heart , instead of taking a more convenient ' wham, bam, thank you Ma'am ' exit .
Mollified , Francesca packs up to elope with Robert, feeling validated & special . On their final dinner in the house, after getting whatever she wanted from Robert , Francesca hypocritically decides that now, her husband , Richard doesn't deserve to be treated so badly by her & neither do her children .
Robert Kincaid , who could've left unequivocally after a passionate 4 day tryst , enjoyed by both sides , now has risked his heart after the admission of love & the offer to elope , forced out of him by Francesca's abusive tongue-lashing from before .
He leaves the house broken-hearted, telling her that she may change her mind after her family arrives & that he will still be in town for a few more days - where she may see him & decide to leave with him after all .
In the end we see Francesca out shopping with Richard ( who is clueless about his two-faced wife ) when she runs into Robert who's very painfully & heartbreakingly , standing in the rain without compromising her publicly , waiting to see if she'll leave with him .
In the end , Francesca was neither true to Richard nor to Robert - she just used both men . She cheated on her husband and broke Kincaid's heart .
Richard Johnson dies years later , never finding out the truth about how his wife abused his faith & Robert Kincaid dies being true to his illicit & misplaced ' love ' , thus never giving himself the chance to find real , clean love in a legitimate relationship with an honourable lady .
Apparently this wasn't enough for Francesca who , after her death leaves journals for her middle aged children to catch up with their mother's thrilling indiscretion . Francesca claims she's being honest with them but like an exhibitionist , includes unnecessary erotic details .
The only good outcome from the illicit passion was that after reading the journals & reflecting on the contents , Francesca's two children take a second look at their own lives & troubled marriages , with the son deciding to repair his relationship with his long suffering wife & the daughter deciding not to be a doormat to a philandering , weak husband.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
A pleasant ride
Nia Vardalos captures the unhappiness of Toula who is 30 , single , works unhappily at the family restaurant with no future prospects & dresses to reflect her quiet despair while drowning in the background noise of her large , loud , hirsute , intrusive , working-class Greek immigrant family in Chicago ; crushed by her dramatic , sweet , manipulative , over - emotional & controlling Greek father , who believes that women shouldn't be educated , but must be Greek virgins who marry nice Greek boys & become matriarchs who rule the family kitchens .
Toula's father is subverted by her mother & aunt , who scheme together , resulting in a new Toula - a woman who takes charge , gets an education , a new job , new friends , confidence & catches the eye of her future husband , (John Corbett ) an easy going high school teacher who adores her & isn't Greek ( to Toula's father's whiny disappointment ) but is an upper middle class WASP, with conservative , refined , quiet , country-club , lawyer parents.
The latter half of the film is about a mildly hilarious clash between the Greek working class and the upper crust prim , polite wasps , with Toula cringing all the way to the altar .
Serendipity (2001)
Unethical !
There is no authentic/ honourable love in this film.
Just two irresponsible adults ( John Cusack & Kate Bekinsale ) who are addicted to melodrama , and unethically use fate / destiny as a lame excuse to be dishonest with their own current partners ( John Corbett & Bridget Moynahan ) who are engaged to them & are in the dark about being back-stabbed .
A devious & immoral film masquerading as a charming search for love.
It's Complicated (2009)
Easy on the eyes ..
Meryl Streep plays Jane, a pleasant divorcee in her 50s who was cheated on by her successful lawyer ex-husband , 58 yr old Jake ( Alec Baldwin ) 10 yrs earlier with a much younger Lake Bell, who is now his high-strung second wife.
Jane has 3 grown up children who sort of love their father but disapprove of him & his second wife in general while Jane tries to maintain equilibrium in their lives by getting along with Jake , while dealing with her professional baking , elaborate home cooking , empty nest syndrome , forays into plastic surgeon's offices, depending on her therapist & female friends over pie , plans for home renovations with her architect Adam ( Steve Martin ) who is divorced & Jake's age, but in contrast to immature , Porsche-driving , ageing , priapic , jealous , seductive , manipulative , man-baby Jake : sedan driving Adam is sedate , sweet , pleasant , mature , acts his age & is more suited to Jane.
Adam & Jane's romance faces hiccups because Jane is overwhelmed & distracted after being seduced by ex-husband Jake who has the libido of a 13 yr old & is perversely thrilled & gleeful at cheating on 2nd wife Lake Bell with his ex-wife Jane and also childishly jealous of her budding romance with Adam ( who is in the dark )
I give the film a 6 out of 10 - while it's horrifying to see a nice lady go backwards in life by sleeping with an ex-husband who was perverse & disrespectful enough to cheat on her in the first place , the film is very pleasant and goes down easily for several repeated viewings as well.
Mirch Masala (1986)
A different kind of ' last stand ' ..
A stunning film set in rural Gujarat in colonial times about one spirited woman's brave stand ( Sonbai- Smitha Patil ) against a village full of ' manly ' cowards, who pass themselves off in daily life as moral patriarchs ( who 'prove' their pathetic machismo by beating their wives , pulling their hair & keeping mistresses ) but are completely spineless when confronted by a mercurial Sergeant / Subedar- Naseeruddin Shah ( sent to collect taxes from the village ).
To the provincial villagers- the lowly but expansive subedar might as well be a commissioned army officer or Lord Mountbatten himself - they didn't know the difference & were completely cowed over & overawed by him , his power , his apparent sophistication and try to appease him by persuading Sonbai to service the obstinate Subedar ( esp. since she lives alone while her husband / Raj Babbar has left to the city for work ) & go to the extent of perversely implying that Sonbai would be actually selfish if she didn't sacrifice herself to the Subedar , to spare the village - a bizzare , twisted morality espoused by the outwardly dignified mukhiya ( Suresh Oberoi ) & supported by all the other 'patriarchs' including the village temple's , weasely temple priest .
The women who work with Sonbai in the village karkhana - the spice factory, also turn against her when they are under siege in the karkhana in a stand-off against the village men & the Subedars soldiers.
Under overwhelming pressure Sonbai is supported by the lone, principled ,incorruptible aging karkhana guard, Abu Mian ( Om Puri ) armed with a single rifle.
The only real MEN in the entire village apart from Abu Mian & the school master ( Benjamin Gilani ) are Sonbai and Saraswati ( Deepti Naval ) - the mukhiya's disdainful & silently enraged wife & her band of female supporters ( each more manly than their husbands )
A beautiful movie with stellar perfomances by Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smitha Patil & Deepthi Naval.
An absolute must see.
One of the top 10 best Hindi films of all time. 9.5 / 10
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Almost perfectly balanced
A near perfect balance of deep philosophy & comedy.
The Master / disciple relationship between
1. Oogway / Randall Duk Kim & Shifu / Dustin Hoffman ( in Oogway's higher state of evolution / serenity & Shifu's impatience in not catching up with his master's level of being evolved & the resulting ' inner peace ' that Shifu craves )
2. .... & in turn between Shifu & Po/Jack Black ( With Shifu trying to hang on to Oogways final exhortation to ' believe ' , while convincing Po in turn that he can achieve the impossible ( which Shifu himself opposed before Oogway's departure ) is beautifully etched in the movie .
This film is the journey of both Master ( Shifu ) & disciple ( Po ) in their pursuit for perfection - Shifu's pursuit of inner peace and Po's pusuit of Kung fu.
James Hong voices Po's loving , fussy , industrious father .
All the supporting roles are done well except for the tigress / Anjelina Jolie - a rather dull character who added little to the film , but took up so much space.
Jack Black has done a stellar job & Oogway is by far , the most memorable cartoon character I've come across.
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
A sedate , warm , feel-good film
This is my absolute No.1 favourite feel good film of all time about a lonely girl who lives with her pretty little pet cat . Lucy is single , has no siblings & has parents who've passed away .
She lives alone with her long haired calico cat , Mel , works holidays & feels a wee bit lonely around Christmas while decorating her Christmas tree watched by Mel .
She passes her time thinking about her dad , eating dinner with her cat , negotiating with her boss , attending Christmas parties , being set up by her downstairs neighbour-cum-landlord with his cocky , mouth-breather of a son ( the very sweet , Joe Fusco Jr. ) & secretly mooning after daily train commuter - the well dressed , dashing Peter Callaghan ; from her token booth.
Things change for Lucy on Christmas Day when she saves Peter from the train tracks onto which he's fallen . At the hospital , Peter is in a coma & she's mistaken as his fiancee .
Before she can clarify , she is enveloped by Peter's loving , talkative family & she succumbs , reluctantly at first & later willingly , to the warm embrace of being part of a large , quirky family once again - a farce she carries on partly at Saul's ( Peter's godfather ) behest & mostly because of her emotional connection with not just the family , but to Peter's brother, Jack ( Bill Pullman ) - who is , at first , suspicious of Lucy supposedly being his polished , urbane brother's , scruffy girlfriend ; but finds himself drawn to her & gets familiar with her quirks ( about Florence , her unstamped passport etc ) & quietly falls in love with her .
Its all smooth sailing after that , till Lucy & Peters wedding date is finalized when Peter wakes up from his coma ( & believes he has amnesia )
Jack refuses to acknowledge his feelings for Lucy , believing her to be his brothers intended , putting Lucy in a fix .
Whom does Lucy marry to end her lonely existence & who finally takes her to Florence , fulfilling her dreams ?
A slow paced , pleasant , romantic comedy .
The English Patient (1996)
Meh ..
Another long drawn , melodramatic saga about a man , in love with anothers wife. Yawn !
Pathetic film spends all its time prettying up adultery & glorifying it ; Like putting lipstick on a pig.
Bad concept. Boring movie.
Even introducing desert & war elements wasn't sufficient lipstick on that particular pig.
Dil Dhadakne Do (2015)
Held my attention
I give this movie a thumbs up only because it held my attention for more than 20 minutes ( which is more than what I can say about any ' b'ollywood ' hit ' film )
A finely etched study of the varying dynamics between different members of the same family, manipulations , secrets & personal motivations that drive diplomacy , keeping-up-appearances , politics & power-play between in-laws , family friends & business partners.
Zoya Akhtar was doing very well until she botched the end of the movie weakly in a schmaltzy finish.
Delhi Belly (2011)
Lol ...
A hilarious film ! The three lead actors , Imran Khan, Vir Das , Kunal Roy Kapoor have rendered crisp performances .
Vijay Raaz has played a suave , droll villain - very amusing .
The script, direction and editing is on the money.
A refreshing & very 'unbollywood' like movie. Wish to see more films like this one from the Indian fim industry.
Be warned - foul language in the film . ( Frankly , the censored version of the film is much less funny )